Written by Michelle Kretzer
Tommy Lee might be one of the "bad boys of rock," but he's always good to animals. While on tour in Southern California, the upside-down drummer flipped right side up to tell SeaWorld San Diego that it wasn't welcome to use his music at its "Shamu Rocks" shows. During these shows, sound-sensitive captive orcas are forced to perform while rock music blasts through the tank and lights flash all around them.
© StarmaxInc.com
In a letter penned on PETA's behalf to SeaWorld San Diego President John T. Reilly, Tommy wrote:
Although we like to torture the human fans who willingly come to our shows, we don't want to be a part of making innocent animals' lives hellish. I've learned from my friends at PETA that these marine animals are very sensitive to sound, as they communicate by sonar, and loud noises mess with their most basic instincts and drive them more nuts than they already are when trapped in your tanks.
Tommy noted that while all of SeaWorld's captive animals should be released to sanctuaries, the least the park can do is spare orcas from being forced to perform while loud music terrifies and confuses them. To find out more about how orcas suffer in the tanks at SeaWorld, check out David Kirby's new book Death at SeaWorld.
Collapsed dorsal fins are rarely seen in the wild, and when they do occur in the wild, it's usually only in orcas who are injured or ill.Olivier Bruchez|cc by 2.0
You don't have to be a rock star to be a rock star for animals. Tell Reilly to stop tormenting orcas and cancel the "Shamu Rocks" shows.
Written by Jeff Mackey
The release of a video showing Kasatka, a wild-caught orca enslaved at SeaWorld, exploding in extreme frustration at trainer Ken Peters in front of visitors to the theme park is sending shockwaves of outrage and dismay through the media and the public over the appalling pressures of captivity on orcas and other wild marine mammals—and the danger to those who come into contact with them.
As David Kirby describes in his book Death at SeaWorld, when Kasatka heard her calf's distress calls for her from another tank, she dragged Peters underwater repeatedly, shaking him about before the stunned audience. Eventually gaining his freedom, Peters required surgery for his injuries. But SeaWorld ignored the risks, permitting the perilous situations to continue.
This video footage was previously shown during the Secretary of Labor v. SeaWorld of Florida LLC trial, which resulted from the horrific death of SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau during a disturbingly similar episode involving another captive orca, Tilikum. Judge Ken Welsch, who called the video "chilling," held SeaWorld liable for permitting hazardous interactions between humans and the huge, dangerously stressed animals.
Please join PETA in asking The Blackstone Group—the company that owns SeaWorld—to release its animal captives into sanctuaries. And if you know people who are planning a trip to SeaWorld, encourage them to visit PETA's new website, SeaWorldOfHurt.com, to learn what kinds of cruelty their dollars would support.
If you have a general question for PETA and would like a response, please e-mail Info@peta.org. If you need to report cruelty to an animal, please click here. If you are reporting an animal in imminent danger and know where to find the animal and if the abuse is taking place right now, please call your local police department. If the police are unresponsive, please call PETA immediately at 757-622-7382 and press 2.
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